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Who Did the Monkey Jump on the Back of Now?

There is usually that one player in the NBA from time to time who is often talked about most, who becomes the most scrutinized to win and NBA title. Most recently and very publicly was Lebron James, and Kevin Garnett before who was the one player I personally felt deserved it more than anyone finally got his in 2008, but now that he has what I call the Championship Monkey off his back, who did it hop on to now?

There are a number of NBA stars who we want to see win it all but many of them the pressure is not as big to get the job done, yet. Kevin Durant? No, he is only 24 years old (almost 6 months younger than I am) and played in his first NBA Finals this past season. And we expect him to get there again because of his talent level and the fact that he has a great team in OKC. I don’t think many worry about KD right now, we know he will get there again. There is Chris Paul and Deron Williams who are easily 2 of the top 3 point guards in the NBA are 27 and 28 years old at the moment. Both still fairly new with their teams and some of us may not expect either one of those guys to win a ring, that’s just my opinion. With the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics still showing that they can compete, a Chicago Bulls team with a healthy Derrick Rose, it may be tough to D Will out East but only time will tell. Chris Paul and the Clippers have a lot of talent and can really make some noise out west in the coming years but Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder could be a block in the road. And oh yea, their same city rivals, Los Angeles Lakers pose a threat, as well as the Spurs but they have posed a threat to everyone out west the last 100 years it seems like.

The 2 players that come to mind who probably have the Championship Monkey on their back are Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard for obvious reasons, he now has to fill Shaq’s shoes, no matter what way you look at it. Dwight still has a lot of basketball left in him, I’d say another decade but he wanted out of Orlando because he felt he was not going to win there and on top of that went to the Lakers and now is that latest of superstar big men to play for the team. If he does not get the job done, Shaq will have a field day. Carmelo on the other hand, is entering his 10th NBA season and will be 29 next spring. Not saying he is old but time is not exactly on his side and is now and NBA vet. He is one of the 4 players apart of the 2003 draft class that brought in stars like Lebron, D Wade and Chris Bosh, all who have and at least one NBA Championship. He teamed up with Amare in New York to better his chances and they have added a few vets to the team. Some may call the Knicks old but like Doc Rivers said about his Boston Celtics, “When we are winning we are experienced but when we are losing everyone says we are too old.” The same applies here and Carmelo is the best player on the team and will have to perform to get the job done. He is 28 like I said, which is still young enough to have a few good years left before a decline and if he never wins a ring, no matter how great he is as a basketball player, Lebron James and D Wade will always be looked at as a tier above him for getting the job done and winning a title.

The championship monkey is officially on Melo’s back, but the monkey is so fickle. I think Melo has too many excuses to warrant pressure. If he doesn’t get a ring, Amare will be blamed. The coaching staff will be blamed. The surrounding cast will be blamed before Melo New York demands championship or bust. As long as the Knicks can stay a little above .500 and make the playoffs, Melo will retire a Knick. I think the monkey is clearly on DHoward’s back, but I don’t think this collection of players will work under Mike Brown. I’m hoping Phil Jackson takes over again. Anyway, the point guards you mentioned won’t really have pressure to win a ring until they’re a part of a stacked team. CP3 would have had that pressure had he become a Laker. DWill if he’d become a Maverick. And KD has one more deep playoff run before that monkey jumps on his back, regardless of his youth.

So if you had to choose, who has more pressure to win a ring in their career….Melo or Dwight? And yes, It is clearly on both of those guys backs. I know Phil Jackson would def get the job done with the lakers group…the question is, will Dwight be able to carry the Lakers to the promise land when Kobe retires? The knicks can be very dangerous this year in my opinion

I think Melo’s legacy as an AllStar and overall superstar numbers wise will get him in the HOF. I can only see him getting one past his prime as a scorer off the bench. Right now the Knicks are strapped with Amare’s contract. Nobody will touch that until the last year for cap relief. Even with a healthy Amare, Melo and him don’t fit well on the court. Melo plays best with a small lineup at the 4 and Tyson Chandler at the 5 on the court. When Amare isn’t in that pick and pop he just stands there. No rebounds, no screens or moving without the ball. Amare and his contract will keep Melo from getting a ring. The only way I see the Knicks having a chance is to bring in somebody like a Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan or maybe even Larry Brown to define player roles. The Linsanity situation showed you players don’t know who’s who in the pecking order. So to answer the question, Dwight has the immediate bullseye for right now because of the similarities of his move to Shaq’s move to LA. Dwight will only be as good as what they put around him after Kobe leaves. He still has a lot of upside and he’s a physical freak like Shaq was in his prime. Dwight plus shooters and at least one other superstar can win it all. Free agency and the frequency of today’s stars opting to team up a la Miami make a Howard helmed team a possibility. I don’t think Dwight will ever lead LA to a championship. His play on both ends of the floor can carry them though.

I think Jerry Sloan would be a good fit for them (Knicks), he hasnt won a ring but hes been there before and his players were always very diciplined. Some say Dwight does not have it in him to live up to what Shaq did. Shaq wanted to kill you on the court….where Dwight is more of a happy go lucky both on and off the court. We will see what happens this season with both players, Melo and Dwight as far as how they respond to their current situation. I just hope Melo and Amare can find a way to co-exist, now that they will have a full season with eacht other, Good answer.

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.I love the NBA, and have since I was 9 years old. My grandmother who was a huge basketball fan is the #1 reason for me being one. Game 1 of the 1997 NBA Finals was the first game I watched, I was at my Grandma’s house and I remember Michael Jordan hitting the game winning shot against the Jazz that game, and right there I was hooked. After that I wanted to play more and more for fun, so much that my Grandma bought me a basketball hoop for Christmas that same year. Like most young boys I wanted to grow up and play for the NBA but as life goes, things don’t always turn out the way you plan. So I continued to watch and learn about the NBA as the years went on from a kid to a grown man, so I realized that this is what I love and there is nothing else I want to do with my life than to be apart of the NBA somehow.
Right now this blog is not at its full potential, I am working on expanding it and the ProBallers Lounge name as a whole. I appreciate anyone who looks at my postings and would like for you to come back to check for new postings and updates with the ProBallers Lounge. Don’t hesitate to suggest any topic you would like to read about because your opinions matter.
Thank You,
Donovan Corzo